Bianco 1989

Agostino Bonalumi made ‘Bianco’ with shaped canvas, likely wrestling with the material, pushing it this way and that, until these strange, sharp forms emerged. It must have been so fun to make! I can imagine him, lost in a world of white, each fold a deliberate act, a conversation between the artist and the canvas. He’s creating not just a painting, but an experience. The shadows cast by the shaped canvas create an interplay of light and depth. It reminds me a little of Lucio Fontana, who was also playing with the surface of the canvas, slashing and puncturing it to reveal what lies beneath. There is so much dynamism going on here, a constant push and pull. And that’s what painting is all about, isn’t it? A dialogue, a dance, a never-ending quest for something new.